Meera, a history student, is studying land records of Bengal from the years after the Permanent Settlement of 1793. In an old revenue file she finds long lists of estates put up for sale when their holders fell behind on payments. A Company letter in the same file explains what officials expected the new settlement to achieve in the countryside. She also notes that many great landholders in these papers carry a royal title, and she finds a later photograph of a grand mansion built by one such family. She now tries to connect these sources with what she has read about Bengal in the early years of Company rule.
Meera learns that the estates of the Burdwan raj were not the only ones sold in these years. Roughly what share of the zamindaris of Bengal changed hands after the Permanent Settlement?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Over 75 per cent
Option (1) Over 95 per cent — Incorrect. Over 95 per cent is the share of the 1797 Burdwan auction sale that was fictitious, bought by the raja's own agents. That figure belongs to one auction only.
Option (2) Over 75 per cent — Correct. After the Permanent Settlement, over 75 per cent of the zamindaris changed hands. Burdwan was only one of many estates sold for unpaid revenue.
Option (3) Over 50 per cent — Incorrect. Over 50 per cent is too low. Far more than half of the zamindaris were sold or passed to new holders.
Option (4) Over 25 per cent — Incorrect. Over 25 per cent is far too low. The sales were so wide that most zamindaris changed hands.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 The problem of unpaid revenue |